


Help

by fightforyourwrite



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Beaches, Day At The Beach, F/F, Napping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 09:59:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18233366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fightforyourwrite/pseuds/fightforyourwrite
Summary: In which Max takes a nap and Kate alleviates some tension.





	Help

**Author's Note:**

> The working title for this was: "Marshfield being soft for 1100 words."

Dry, cloudless days in Arcadia Bay often felt like a gift. It was an entrancing mix between the greens of the trees, the blues of the seas, and the sun in the sky. It was also a nice thing to wake up to after a string of overcast days, which were inconveniently common to the Pacific Northwest. 

On the first sunny day of November, a handful of Blackwell students decided to make the best of it. It was originally Dana’s idea to head to the beach. She thought it was a good idea for everyone to get out and spend time together.

Max didn’t think much of the outing at first. She had not felt like going out a lot as of lately – most of her time nowadays consisted of her going to class or her snapping photos. 

But Dana had convinced her to come along, somehow.

The shores of Oregon were picturesque and gorgeous. The warmth of the summer was long gone by then, but the sky was clear and blue. The endless waves of the ocean crashed onto the sand and rocks, the impact churning the water into mounds of white seafoam. 

It was a common, yet bewitching sight. It was the kind of image that Max often wanted to frame, capture, and immortalize. 

But out of all things to do, Max spent the afternoon napping. She plugged her earbuds in and pulled up a song on a first generation ipod that had seen better days. 

Kate had been smart enough bring a blanket on the trip, one big enough for two people to sit on. To Max’s relief, Kate had no qualms against letting people nap on it. 

When Max woke up, the sun hit her eyes with a burst of light. She blinked awkwardly for a second, then raised her hand to shield her vision as she sat up on the blanket. 

She glanced around the beach, just trying to see what everyone else had gotten up to while she was out. 

Dana and Juliet were tossing a frisbee around near the water, Brooke had brought out her drone and was letting Stella fly it, and Alyssa was keeping to herself, having decided to read a book on a rock near the shore. 

Looking away from the water, Max craned her head back just enough to find Kate.

Like before, she was still sitting on the blanket, her moleskine art book on her lap and a watercolor marker in her hand. She looked at peace while drawing, a sight Max hadn’t seen as of lately.

At this time of year, the two were dressed more warmly. Max had layered a green field jacket over her usual hoodie – she was grateful that the thing was comfortable enough to sleep in. Kate was clad in a peacoat – a black coat, to the surprise of no one. 

Kate noticed Max right away. With a smile, she greeted, “Hey there, Sleepyhead. Have a good nap?” 

“Yeah, for once,” Max admitted. 

There was an aching pain in the back of Max’s head, an external one culminating mostly on her scalp. To alleviate the tension, she reached up and rubbed the back of her head with her hand. 

“What’cha drawing” Max asked, trying her best to ignore the discomfort on her skull. 

“Just some doodles,” Kate explained. She started to look concerned, clearly noticing Max’s discomfort. “Uh… Max, are you okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just my head,” Max insisted. She started rubbing her scalp just a bit harder. “I think I slept on a pebble or something.” 

“Well, here,” Kate started, setting her moleskine and marker down. She then shuffled forward just a bit. “Let me help.”

Max blinked, unsure what exactly Kate was implying. “Uh… how so?” 

“Just trust me.” 

There was a beat as Max thought. Who knew what Kate’s definition of  _ “help” _ could entail? 

But after a moment, Max figured that she was thinking too much into it and shuffled herself forward. 

Kate got Max to lie back, then gently let the brunette rest her head on her lap. Kate’s hands had the gentlest touch as she carefully caressed Max’s short, messy hair. 

Needless to say, Max was quite surprised, and not necessarily in a bad way. 

The feeling of Kate holding her combined with the soothing sound of the sea was enough to make her take another nap. 

“Better?” Kate asked, beaming down at Max with a kind of softness in her eyes. 

“Definitely,” Max agreed. She looked up at Kate and matched her smile with one of her own. “You really know how to help someone, don’t you?”

“My Grandmother did this for me when I was a kid,” Kate explained in a warm tone. “Whenever she was babysitting me and I couldn’t sleep, she’d come up to my room and hold me like this until I did.” 

“Awww, that’s sweet,” Max cooed. The image of Baby Kate being held by Grandma Marsh danced in her head, bringing a warm, fuzzy feeling inside of her. 

“I like to think so,” Kate added on, nodding. “Although… I think my Grandmother did it less out of her own love and more because she just needed me to sleep.” She rolled her eyes and let out a laugh at the old memory. “Guess the older I get, the more I realize how difficult I was as a kid.” 

Max let out a chuckle. “Weren’t we all? Funny story – when I was five, I swallowed the eye of my teddy bear and had to be rushed to the ER. I didn’t realize how dire the situation was until I was getting an x-ray.”

Kate laughed again, her face blossoming into an expression of delight. “Oh my goodness. Wait, how do you swallow the eye of a teddy bear?” 

“By chewing on it until you rip it off,” Max admitted way too casually. “What can I say? I was a very persistent child.” 

As Max spoke, she kept her eyes focused on Kate and watched as her fingers played around with her hair. Truth be told, Max didn’t want her to stop, so even when she ran out of things to say, she continued to lie back and watch. 

“How’s your head now?” asked Kate. “Still hurting” 

Max looked into Kate’s eyes, taking notice to the hazel hues and minuscule specks of green. Kate really did have pretty eyes, in Max’s opinion at least. 

“It’s getting better,” Max soon answered. 

Kate continued to smile, looking more and more assured with every passing second. “That’s good.”

Then somewhat suddenly, Max asked: “Can we stay like this for a bit?” 

In reaction, Kate tilted her head to the side somewhat slightly, thus causing Max to follow up with –

“This is… nice.” 

Max was starting to feel embarrassed. There were only so many ways a friend can ask another friend to stay this close to them without it sounding clingy or needy.

But to Max’s surprise, Kate seemed okay with the request. 

The girl with hazel eyes smiled softly. “Of course, Max. It’s fine by me.” 

**Author's Note:**

> *cartwheels into Marshfield hell* Hellooooooooooooo


End file.
